Railway safety appliance.



T. HOLT.

' RAILWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE:

APPLICATION mm )ULY 9. 1911.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

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T. HOLT.

RAILWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1911.

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JNVENTOR. IEMMM 2M 0M BY M QM A TTORNEYS.

T. HOLT.

RAILWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9.1917.

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' INVENTOR. "1 m Mau- A TTORNEYS.

TI-IGMAS HOLT, 0F BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PENNSYLVANIA COMPANY,

OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORFORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Patented Feb. 26, 191%.

Application filed July 9, 1917. Serial No. 179,398.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TrroimsHoL'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Beaver, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful Invention in Railway Safety Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway safety appliances and more particularly to safety appliances for frog and switch points.

In interlockingsystems now in use, with which I am familiar, it is customary at frog and switch points to move the movable rails laterally from one position to the other (one position may be termed the open position and the other the closed position) by suitable connections to lovers in an interlocking operating station. These connections are commonly known as pipe lines. And another set of lines run from the tower to the switch point or frog point by means of which the movable rails are looked, after being thrown, in one or the othe position.

Signals governing movements over switches can not be cleared until switches are closed and locked.

Connected to the movable rails so as to move therewith is a lock rod, the outer or free end of which is provided with two holes. The rod passes through a device commonly known as a plunger stand, and a plunger movable at right angles to the lock rod and operated from the tower is provided for engagement with said holes in the lock rod; when engaged with one hole the movable rails will be locked in one position and when engaged with the other hole in the other position.

The spring of the rails has heretofore been relied upon to insure movement of the movable rails so that if the switch lines to the tower become broken or disconnected the movable rails through the spring will move the lock rod sufficiently to prevent the plunger from registering with either of the holes in the lock rod.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for insuring that the movable rails when released by the locking mechanism, with the connections to the switch broken or disconnected, will move a distance so that the lock plunger can not reenter the same hole from which it has been withdrawn.

This as well as other objects which will readily appear to one skilled in this art, I

attain by means of the device described in the specification. and illustrated in the ac companying drawings and forming a part of this application.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation taken on line AA of Fig. 2, of a device embodying this invention shown in position bolted to a fixed rail and bearing against a frog or switch point. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device and rail shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of switch points in which this invention is incorporated and Fig. 4: is a diagrammatic view of frog points in which this invention is incorporated.

The device consists of a spring housing or barrel 5 carried by a flange 6 bolted to rail 7 at 8 and 9. The web of rail 7 is pierced at 10 to loosely receive a plunger 11, the

head 12 or which forms a spring abutment. The plunger isyieldingly forced toward the web of rail 7 by means of a coil spring 18 located between its head 12 and a plug 14. threaded or otherwise secured into the outer end of barrel 5 and locked therein by lock nut 15.

The outer end 16 of plunger 11 is shown bearing against point 17 which may be either a frog or switch point.

In the position shown in Fig. 1, the movable rail is shown in closed position and the spring 13 through plunger 11 constantly tends to yieldingly force the rail away from rail 7, which in this case is the fixed rail.

In Fig. 3 which illustrates a switch in which this invention is employed, the fixed rails (commonly known as the stock rails) are numbered 18 and 19, and the movable rails or switch points 20 and 21. The movable rails are stayed together by stay rods 22 and a front rod 23, each end of which is provided with a switch foot 2-1. threaded so as to provide means for adjusts ing the distance between the switch points.

' A lockrod 25 carried by front rod 23 is adapted to reciprocate within a channel shown by dotted lines 26 in plunger casing 27. A plunger 28 reciprocates within a bore in the casing at right angles to lock rod 25 and by means of engaging with holes, 29 and 30 in the-lock rod is adapted to lock the switch points in open or closedpositmns. Operating rod 31 which runs to the operating station, where can be operated by the Front rod 23 is signal man, operates plunger 28 through the medium of links 32 and 33 and bell cranks 3a and 35;-as many ofeach may be utilized as is found necessary. 1 V

A switch rod 36 connected to the switch points carries at its center connection box 87, commonly known as a basket and connected through this basket is a throw rod 38. The

I Throw rod 88 is connected upto the opcrating station through the medium of. rod

4.3 and bell crank a4. Fixed rails 18 and 1% adjacent to theends of switch points 20 and 21 carry a device'such as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the spring barrel of which is numbered 5;

In operation, when. the plunger is withdrawn from the lock rod, should the connection between switch, and operating station be broken or disconnected, the switch point 20 will be'forced away from fixed rail 18 by the plunger in barrel 5 through the agency of its spring and the locking mechanism can not be operated. Thus if the switch does not follow the lever operating it, it can not be locked and signals governing movement over it cleared.

From thislt will be seen that if anything happened in the operating mechanism so as to produce a break in the same between the switch points and the operating station, the same will immediately be known to the s gnal man when he attempts to operate the locking mechanism.

In Fig. & which illustrates frog points (intersection of two ra lroad tracks) rails b and 0 arefixed rails of one track and d and e of the oher. The movable rails f and g with the fixed rails (Z and 6 complete one track and the movable rails h and i with the fixed rails Z) and 0 complete the other track. p

Each fixed rail oppos te the adjacent frog point carries a device such as illustrated in F'gs. 1 and 2, the spring barrel of which is numbered 5.

Each frog point carries a lock rod 25 adapted to be locked in its'two positions by means of plunger. 28. The bellcranks 51 and 52 connected to the throw rods 38 in this assen'bly are reversed so that the frog points operate in opposite directions, that s, movable rails f and It will move toward fixed rail 6 as movable ra ls g and 2' move toward fixed rail-c. -Mov'able rails h anclf will move toward fixed .rail d as movable rails'g andiz' move toward fixed rail.

It will be understood that the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 may be carried by the movable rails instead of the fixed rails,

but it is preferable to attach them to the fixed rails as shown in the drawings.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle ofoperation of my invention, together with the devices which I now consider to represent the best embodiments thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the devices shown are only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out in other ways.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In combination with two rails, one of which is fixed and the other of which is laterally movable, means for moving the inovable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions and means carried by one of said rails constructed to yieldingly force the movable rail out ofclosed position.

2.,In combination with tworails, one of which is fixed and the other of which is laterally movable, means for moving the movable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions and means constructed to yieldingly force the movable rail out of closed position.

8. In combination with a fixed and :1 laterally movable rail, means for moving the movable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions and means carried by one of said rails constructed to yieldingly force the movable rail out of closed position sufiiciently far to render said locking means inoperative.

'4. In combination with a fixed and a laterally movable rail, means for moving" the movable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions and means constructed to yieldirgly force the movable rail out of closed position sufiiciently far to render said locking means inoperative.

5. In combination with a laterally movable rail and a fixed rail, means for moving said movable rail to open and closed positions, means for lockirg said movable rail in open and closed positions and means carried by the fixed rail and yieldingly bearing against the movable rail tending to force the movable rail from closed position.

6. In combination with a laterally movable rail and a fixed rail, means for moving said movable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking said movable rail in open and closed positions and means hearing against the movable rail tending to force the movable rail from closed position.

7. In combination with two rails. one of which is fixed and the other of which is laterally movable, means for moving the mov able rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions and a device carried by one of said rails comprising a plunger passing through one rail and bearing against the other rail, and a spring agent for operating said plunger for yieldingly forcing the movable rail out of closed position;

8. In combination with a fixed and a laterally movable rail, means for moving the movable rail to open and closed position, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed positions, a plunger passing through the fixed rail and a spring agent tending to force said plunger against the movable rail to yieldingly force the movable rail out of closed position sufiiciently far to render said locking means inoperative.

9. In combination with a fixed and a laterally movable rail, means for moving the movable rail to open and closed positions, means for locking the movable rail in open and closed position and a device carried by one of said rails comprising a plunger passing through one rail and bearing against the other rail and a spring agent for operating said plunger for yieldingly forcing the movable rail out of closed position sufficiently far to render said locking means inoperative.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day of July, 191

THOS. HOLT. Witnesses:

M. LAVELLE, EMMA LA MONTGOMERY.-

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01? Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

